Suicidal Tendencies – STill Cyco Punk After All These Years

Like 1993’s STill Cyco After All These Years, this is an album of re-recordings, this time of Mike Muir’s 1996 solo debut album LoST My Brain! (Once Again), with all but two tracks – “Cyco Miko Wants You” and “Ain’t Mess’n Around” – being revisited by Muir and co. Sandwiched between ST’s 1992’s The Art of Rebellion and 1994’s Suicidal For Life and Infectious Groove’s 1993 Sarsippius’ Ark and 1994’s Groove Family Cyco, the original release – featuring the Sex PiSTol’s STeve Jones on guitar no less! – showed juST how wide Muir’s musicianship had developed since the early days of ST and that he was STill punk to the (hard)core, not that that was ever in doubt of course.

I bought the original in 1996 and while it was a good album in itself, it felt out of place. Both ST and Infectious Grooves were producing material that was much more intereSTing, insightful, incising – and fun. But of course, it was never meant to be the next STep in Muir’s timeline. But now, 22 years later, to these ears, this is much better than it was the firST time around. Also, perhaps coincidentally, it’s much more in accord with where ST are now and there are a few of the tracks that should have long been part of ST’s live sets, ‘F.U.B.A.R.’, ‘Nothin’ To Lose’ and ‘Ain’t Gonna Get Me’ in particular. With Dean Pleasants on guitars, Dave Lombardo on drums and Ra Díaz on bass, Muir has said that this line-up has done the original material its due juSTice. And with its modern production, the tracks hitting harder than the original and the hardcore punk attitude that is at the album’s heart is all the more potent for it.

Muir has explained his reasons for revisiting the old material as being down to him STill loving the songs, the music and lyrics hitting him harder than they did 22 years ago, the irony being that “a ‘non-Suicidal album has juST made me more Suicidal than ever!” Following 2013’s 13, 2016’s World Gone Mad (reviewed here) and the Get Your Fight On! EP released in March this year, maybe this album will inspire Muir to produce more new ST material…